At the recent World Pork Expo in Iowa, US, Diamond V reaffirmed its commitment to customers in supporting a balanced immune system and digestive health for all life stages of swine.

One of Diamond V's natural, nutritional health products to support the swine immune system is SynGenX®. It is a Lactobacillus acidophilus fermentation-based feed additive, which was introduced in 2013, at a time when the US industry needed it most, with young pigs facing a variety of health challenges and impending restrictions on antibiotic use, Clayton Gill, strategic communications manager at Diamond V, told eFeedLink during an interview at the Expo.

He was joined by Dr. Jason Frank, director of global non-ruminant research and technical support.

According to Dr. Frank, SynGenX had been developed specifically for the weaning or nursery phase, to support the piglet's transition from weaning to solid feed: "SynGenX supports immune function and improves the beneficial bacteria population in the gut, helping to keep pathogens such as E. coli and Salmonella at bay, preventing them from taking advantage of the stresses piglets face during weaning."

Both regulatory and market forces are pushing US producers toward greater use of natural additives, which nonetheless need to demonstrate their efficacy with strong scientific evidence..

"With SynGenX," Dr. Frank said, "we make a concerted effort to do research and make solid recommendations to our customers on where and how the product best works."

He added that the "concerted effort" comes at multiple levels: basic innovation at their laboratories in Cedar Rapids, Iowa; working with independent third parties such as universities to carry out further research with the aim of publishing that information; and working with customers to identify issues they face.

Besides ongoing research into SynGenX, Dr. Frank shared that in general, Diamond V also conducts research in various countries outside of the US, such as the Netherlands, Spain, and Vietnam, to elucidate how the company's technologies could be applied to specific feedstuffs and production systems in those global markets.

Speaking on the subject of global markets, Dr. Frank took the opportunity to thank customers who visited them at the Expo from countries outside of the US, such as Mexico, Thailand, Vietnam, and the Philippines. He commented that the World Pork Expo is becoming a more international event every year, and was heartened by the increasing opportunities Diamond V has to contribute to the pork industry as it "makes strides into the global protein industry".

Touching on the unavoidable subject of antibiotics in pork production, Dr. Frank was quick to clarify that Diamond V's products should not be seen as "antibiotic replacers", but rather as "another tool to reduce the use of antibiotics in diets".

"What we have learnt through our technologies in general, is that feeding animals with our unique fermentation products improves immune function, and also helps control the risk of pathogenic bacteria in the gut environment," Dr. Frank explained. "Producers would then be in a better position to decide whether they should continue to use antibiotics to treat a disease, or implement a strategy to make them work more effectively."

Another important concern for pork producers in recent years is the spread of the PED (porcine epidemic diarrhea) virus. Dr. Frank shared that recent research has been conducted in Asia for Diamond V's flagship product, Original XPCTM, on how it could be used in sows to improve piglet health, potentially improving their survivability and productivity going forward, shared Dr. Frank. The sows could pass on their antibodies to their piglets through milk, enabling the piglet's naïve immune system to be educated very quickly and adapting rapidly to the environment.

Wrapping up the conversation, Clayton Gill concluded: "Through two of our products, SynGenX for weaning pigs, and Original XPC for sows and grower-finisher pigs, we can help support a balanced immune system and digestive health for all life stages."